No Fun On This Four-Twun, Son – April 16, 2012

Monday, April 16, 2012

City of Arcata

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

POLICE INCREASE 420 ENFORCEMENT

The Arcata Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies will be partnering on Friday, April 20, to increase enforcement in and around Redwood Park. In past years Redwood Park, the Community Forest, and the surrounding neighborhoods have been negatively impacted by the gatherings that have occurred on April 20.

Buzzkill Central. KLH | Eye

Arcata Police Chief Tom Chapman said, “The damage to the park and forest in past years have been a significant burden on the community. Over the past two years we have successfully reduced many of the previous problems associated with this unsanctioned event. We will continue our efforts this year to ensure the safety of the citizens and the protection of public property.”

Law enforcement will be strictly enforcing all laws related to the use of Redwood Park. Smoking and alcohol consumption are prohibited.

Redwood Park and the Arcata Community Forest are beautiful family friendly resources available to all community members. The Arcata Police Department and the City of Arcata encourage people to use Redwood Park and the Community Forest in a responsible and respectful manner.

Maybe if the town would help the promotion and not create the “red tape” that prior organizers have had to deal with lazy stoners would be more inclined to put in the effort. but no…we have to have police from 5(?) different jurisdictions to police the plaza on NYE and Halloween (instead of proactive enforcement) because as a town we are a bunch of pussies. maybe we can start a committee to talk about starting a committee (common arcata city council response) to look into this and make sure no one’s feelings are hurt. lets make money on the ganja as a community. if we promoted it and sold tickets (music/events/teach-in’s) maybe it would worth it and attract different bus loads of stoners, not park kids and low lifes, maybe college kids with their parent’s cc’s.

This is why the celebration will shift to the Arcata Plaza. There are a handbills being printed to inform the visitors. It will be difficult for the police to shift their focus on such short notice. It’s the oldest demonstration/celebration tactic around- last minute switch of venue. See you there!

Why would you want to hang out on the plaza or the forest for 420 if cops will be there? I say go to the beach if you don’t want to drive all the way to the Mateel. I was at Redwood Park last year and got a ticket. That isn’t how I want to spend my 420 this year.

Rumor has it that APD is “asking” Arcata businesses to remove any fliers related to 4/20 events. Many(not all) of our “Fire Fusion 4/20″ at the Mateel posters have been taken down on the Plaza and elsewhere around Arcata. Which doesn’t make much sense…

Why would the APD remove fliers for an out of the Arcata area 4/20 event? Next year, maybe the City of Arcata can just pay us to throw a free event? Save the tax dollars used for excessive use of law enforcement overtime?

Last year I hiked up to the park on 4/20 to visit the recently fish emulsioned and well over-watered soppy precious grass that they are trying so hard to protect from those partaking the yearly 4/20 “grass”. The park was completely empty. Spare the couple dozen APD(and other county and city fill-in) officers. You know what they were doing? Enjoying a HUGE buffet spread in the Community Forest community center. Good to know that EVERYONE can enjoy 4/20 in their own special way…

That’s YOUR tax dollars at work Arcata!

Anyways, we hope to make “Fire Fusion 4/20″ an annual event. Enjoy music on two stages, a massive drum circle, fire performances, burlesque, SambAmore’, Humboldt Fire’s rolling contest and a late night dance party! $20 online and $25 at the gate. We will sell out, get your tickets online. Goes from Noon on Friday 4/20 until 1am. More info at: http://www.mateel.org/2012_circus_of_the_elements.html

18 and over will be strictly enforced. Sorry, Absolutely no drugs, outside food, beverages or doggies.

Thorny: Littering and… Littering and… Littering and… [the rest of the car joins in, causing the kid in the back to freak out from the echoes] Littering and smoking the reefer. Now to teach you boys a lesson, me and officer Rabbit are going to stand here while you boys smoke the whole bag.
Kid in Back: Please, no.
Rabbit: Please, yes.

If you wander ten feet off trail at Redwood Park, you’re sure to find abandoned camps and trash. Where’s the respect for surroundings? It’s pretty f’ing gross and no wonder the cops are cracking down. Most of the people calling themselves ‘hippies’ are really only about shunning responsibility.

I’m not a stoner-haven’t poked smot since ’bout 84 but I do believe that this is not an organized event/gathering and that this park is funded by the tax paying citizens and is therefor public property is it not?

If this was a festival or some sort of organized gathering then a permit may be necessary. But asking tax paying citizens, many of whom contribute tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars per year into the City of Arcata Inc. to apply for a permit to go to a city park for a few hours one day out of the year which they themselves fund via taxes is, well it’s insane, ludicrous and criminal.

Every holiday and weekend in this state, in this country and on this planet hundreds of millions of people flock to city parks. Depending on the geographic region, the holiday and the population the city, parks are each impacted in some way. On Labor Day, Cinco De Mayo and the Fourth of July more-than-likely the most.

Now could you imagine if any of these cities used tax-payed public servants to enforce some sort of closure or warning that this may not be the best Father’s Day to go to your local tax payer funded city park?

Try that in South or Central America or try closing the city parks in Mexico or in Los Angeles on Cinco De Mayo. They’ll tell you where to stick your caution tape.

You folks in Arcata are insane. What do they put in your drinking water? You should just kick all of the damn pot heads out of your town and be done with it already. You should make them register and where a 6 pointed star, I mean pot leaf on their jackets and make internment camps for them.

Then watch what happens to your hardware stores, gas stations, precious co-ops, your 10 sushi bars, your water stores and your city streets. You think your town is still funded by logging? You think that the HSU students or the University itself keep it alive? Think again bubba. You be wrong.

Ever been to a little town called Orick? I have. Embrace it. It’s your future folks if you keep it up.

Wake up folks. You’re living in a dream cloud. Come back down to earth and join us Earthlings. You may not like that plant, hell, I can’t say that I like it much myself, but I’m not gonna be the one to tell God that he shouldn’t have rested on the seventh day. He should’ve been busy spraying Round-Up on all those plants because he musta made a big friggin’ mistake creating it.

That’s it. People come here with no plan except to smoke lots of pot and “live off the land,” which usually involves illegal camping, begging and bothering townsfolk. The park gets trashed, there’s a lot of petty crime and things are generally unpleasant. Someday someone smart is going to organize all this energy into something fun and festive, and I wish they’d do it pretty soon.

If you are really interested in those events and why they ended, consider attending a Parks & Rec Committee meeting. They occur monthly at the Community Center. Several of the committeemembers have served for years, and along with the Parks Superintendent, they would have the answers.

I’m quite sure the City staff has numerous explanations and justifications for their inconsistent enforcement of red tape regarding events in Public spaces. Isn’t that why we pay taxes?

As I recall, the Bebop and Brew event (http://www.bebopandbrew.com/) was shut down due to concerns over lawn care. Considering how muddy the ground is at Redwood Park this seems like a very a legitimate concern. It’s a little dubious however, that the same issue was brought up in an attempt to shut down the North Country Fair on the Plaza.

I also recall at the time, that a “Never Again” policy was adapted for events with beer and wine in Redwood Park. This is a shame — if Shakespeare in the Park could sell beer and wine it might be better attended (like the Mad River Festival). Beer and Wine sales could also provide a little budget to pay the artists.